Local focus to strengthen the tourism sector
Tourism has been one of the most affected sectors worldwide, due to the closure of borders. Faced with this problem, Netviax has proposed to reactivate local tourism through Uruguay 365, a National Tourism project based on the platform of Mercado Viajes and Netviax ATLAS, a software for tourism management.
- International tourism dropped by 22% in the first quarter and could decline by 60- 80% over the whole year.
- This implies the loss of between 850 and 1.1 billion international tourists.
- As a result, this impact puts the livelihoods of millions of people around the world at risk (between 100 and 120 million jobs).
- In the face of this crisis, a solution is proposed that will strengthen local tourism as borders remain closed.
Uruguay is no exception, so with tourism completely at a standstill, Netviax Netviax’s team has created the platform Uruguay 365 , with the purpose of connecting tourists who are looking to enjoy travel experiences with entrepreneurs who offer them.
Netviax Solutions is a technology company for Travel Agencies –and a Microsoft and GeneXus Partner–, which has a web platform that serves as a distribution channel for information and tourism products for travel agents. It is an easily accessible tool, which matches supply and demand among companies in the tourism market, consolidating all the available, up-to-date and active information in it from different wholesale operators, airlines or other service providers for the travel agency network.
Due to the pandemic, in just a few weeks and with a very small group of professionals, they decided to redesign the product module of their Business, Administration and Financial Management system Netviax ATLAS, which allows creating and managing the catalog of more than 700 international tourist packages by 8 different travel agencies, to adapt it to the specific characteristics of national tourist packages.
The project is supported by Uruguay’s Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR), the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), and travel agencies Jetmar, Hiperviajes, Buemes, Toctoc, Tienda Viajes, and Voy de Viaje. In addition, it has made agreements with major banks and financial institutions that offer discounts of up to 20% and financing in up to 12 installments without extra charge.
Currently, the offering consists of more than 1,200 options, including hotel stays, accommodation in country houses and estancias, sports and outdoor experiences, car and caravan rentals, guided tours, tastings and lunches in wineries offered by more than 200 suppliers. It is now being used by more than 60 users including salespeople and call center agents from 6 travel agencies.
It is now being used by more than 60 users including salespeople and call center agents from 6 travel agencies.
Netviax ATLAS is a product entirely developed with GeneXus, hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud. It has a web app with a very engaging user experience, and a Portals API that enables the Uruguay 365 website to obtain the consolidated travel offerings of all the participating agencies, and the details of each of the products including their descriptions, pricing structure, and multimedia content.
The Products API, in turn, allows agencies such as Jetmar, Tienda Viajes, and Hiperviajes to publish only their products on their websites developed by different integrators. In this way, using a single system, agencies are able to manage their products and select which channels the product should be published in, simplifying the complexity of tourism products and contributing to the agility required by the business.
In addition, a team of writers was brought in to create content for this project, and more than 150 salespeople were trained.
In the meantime, Netviax continues to work on innovative options, helping to revitalize the local tourism economy and employment, connecting customers who are eager to travel, relax and escape from the stress created during this pandemic.